The Power of Compliment

The following story is excerpted from "The Fine Art of Small Talk".      Prior to my wedding, I had a conversation with my good friend Karen about all the arrangements.      I told her that for a period of time, I had been seeing two men----Ben and Steve. She invited me to tell her about both of them.      I said, "Ben has a great sense of hunmor. He's the life of the party. He dresses like a million bucks and has taken me on wonderful trips. We've been to Hilton Head, Europe, and had a bunch of weekend mountain getways. He's a great golfer and an all-around wonderful guy."       Karen could hardly contain herself, she was so excited. She said: " He sounds like a dream. I'm so happy that you're marrying him."     " I'm not," I replied, "I'm marrying Steve."       Karen was speechless. Finally, she collected herself and said, " Well Debra, Ben sounds like a prince. Why are you marrying Steve?"       " Beacuse he makes me feel so special because of all the wonderful things he says about me. And you know what? He means every of them."        The power in a sincere compliment is enormous. There is nothing that makes people feel more special than to have their finer traits noted and appreciated.